What God Prunes, He Intends to Grow

What God Prunes, He Intends to Grow

Now that Mother’s Day has passed, and with it the risk of frost, Sheila and I did some major plant trimming at our home. Since we bought this home, we have been working to honor the beauty that’s here and add some of our own flavor too. For this spring, that included dealing with some overgrowth and shaping these bushes up, hopefully for long-term health.

But it wasn’t an easy day. You see, planting some new trees wasn’t too hard; the ground was forgiving. And transplanting some things from the woods to the yard was very doable; everything was pretty easy to get to. The real challenge was cutting back those bushes. They were huge! Some were twice my height. But because my wife is such a go-getter, she let me stay on the shovel while she got on the hedge trimmers… and the loppers…and the pole saw. It was no joke, and I tried to offer moral support where I could.

Well, when it was all done, a number of those bushes ended up being half their original height. To look at some, you’d think a tornado came through. You might even wonder if you did too much. But you see, some of that growth was dead. Other parts were inhibiting fuller growth. In order for those bushes to have a longer life, they needed a heavy-duty trim. For now, there are some wounds. But for the future, there will be fullness and beauty because of the loss they endured.

Jesus says in John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Like those bushes, Jesus sometimes has to prune things back in our lives, too. There can be dead things attached to us, like unhealthy relationships or wastes of our time. There can be things stalling our growth, like immature ways of thinking or a love of comfort. And because He is faithful, He is good to remove those things so we “may bear more fruit.” Fruits of gentleness and patience, love and self-control.

Now, that isn’t easy. Cutting hurts, and sometimes it causes a wound that hurts for a while. But God is good to treat our wounds while we heal if we stay close to home when those cuts come. If we are already near to Christ, you and I both know what those things are in our life he has to trim. Where we can, let us willingly pursue those cuts. And where our flesh is weak, when he cuts anyway, let us come to him like his children and allow him to heal us while we learn to grow and mature into the people he means for us to be.

And along the way, join us! Summer is an important time to get involved and an important time to prioritize the church and your faith. All kinds of things might call out, but don’t let them stunt your growth. As we begin a new study on Wednesdays focused on fruit beating, come along for that too.

See you soon,

William